The evening arrived who lot and that was when I decided it was about time for me to go and check on Bow.

I placed the art work that I had been working on away and stood up from my desk.

I then walked down the hall quietly because, if Bow was asleep, I didn't want to wake him.

When I got to his room, it was almost pitch dark apart from the soft moonlight shining in through the gaps in his blinds.

"Bow," I said.

Bow grumbled something that I didn't quite catch, but it sounded a little like "go away". That instantly led me to wondering what had happened for Bow to not want to talk to anyone all of a sudden. I could only hope that he was alright.

I walked over to his bed and sat down upon it, while I heard Bow softly crying into his covers.

"Bow," I said more gently, as I reached out to smooth down the bed covers that he had crept under.

Bow sat up in bed then and I scooted closer towards him.

"Bow, what happened?" I asked him.

He rested his head against me, as he tried to call his breathing enough to tell me what happened.

"I got in trouble today," he said quietly.

I turned to him and felt my eyebrows creased together in confusion.

"I wanted to talk to my friend and then Miss Bars just yelled at me," he told me.

"Well Miss Bars sounds like a b- I mean, I'm sorry, Bow," I told him. "Teachers can be mean sometimes, just like everyone else."

"The thing is that after that happened the boy I had been talking to, Freddy, he didn't even say another word to me," Bow said.

I felt my heart hurt for him, then. People could be so mean sometimes and I hated the fact that it was happening to my brother at school, where I couldn't be there for him.

"I'm so sorry, Bow. You know I love you and I'm here for you, always," I said.

"You are?" Bow asked, as he sat in my lap so we could cuddle more closely.

"Of course. It's sort of my job as your big sister. If I can do anything to help then I will," I assured him.

"Can the two of us make pancakes together tomorrow?" Bow asked me.

I chuckled at his question. I knew that when it came to Bow most food made matters easier to deal with.

"Yes, Bow. The two of us can," I said.

I knew that he simply needed a friend right now and I was willing to provide.

"Thank you! You're the best. I'll help," he said.

I nodded in agreement.

"Now, are you going to be able to sleep?" I asked him.

"I should be able to now. Thank you, Phoebe beanie," he said.

"Of course. Goodnight Bow," I said.

I gave him a little kiss upon the forehead before lifting him up, so I could place him back down in his bed.

Once he closed his eyes, I made my way out of the room and found Callie in the hall. The dim glow of the lights above us helped me to see her a little better.

"Is he alright?" she asked me.

"He will be okay," I said.

Callie's expression relaxed a little then.

"I'm glad to hear it," she told me.

"Of course," I replied. "How are you?" I asked her.

"I'm so tired. I want to take a nap but I've been up all night busy working because-" Callie cut off then, before she could finish that statement.

This piqued my interest, so I had to ask her about it.

"Because of what?" I asked her.

"Because I want to go to university," she said.

I felt my eyes become a fraction larger, in my surprise.

"You do?" I wondered.

"I do," she agreed.

I felt the corners of my lips lift upwards at that.

"Callie, that's amazing!" I told her.

Her eyes brightened at my compliment.

"Thank you, Phoebe. I guess I felt like it was time for me to move on from working at the bar. It's Okay and I love my co-workers but..." she trailed off.

"It's not what you really want?" I asked her.

"Exactly! I want to go and study psychology and have that university experience that I feel like I'm missing out on," she confessed.

I gave an understanding nod at her words.

"I know that you can do this, Callie," I assured her.

"That really does mean a lot to me, Phoebe. Thank you," she said.

"Of course," I said with a friendly smile.

I then let Callie know that if she needed help with any of the application process then I would be there.

It began to get a little later so Callie and I parted ways so we could return to our respective bedrooms.

I sat down at my desk and got on with a little more of my work. I wanted to get as much of it done as possible because I knew we were approaching the deadline.

I hadn't been working on my art project for long before my phone buzzed with a text from Courtney.

Are you awake?

Yeah.

Courtney immediately called me then.

"Hey. What's going on?" I asked her, in a soft-spoken voice so I wouldn't end up awaking my family who I supposed were already in a peaceful slumber.

"My stupid father is going on, that's what's going on. I'm sorry to be such a nuisance and calling at this time. Actually, I'm not. I missed your voice but that's besides the point. He just makes me so mad!" Courtney said. "I feel like I need to do something. Like I need to run away."

"Okay, slow down. That's a little eccentric," I said.

"I've been moving my whole life. If I could find somewhere else to live then trust me I would," she told me.

That was when I was struck by an idea.

"Do you want to come to my house tomorrow?" I asked her.

"As in stay over?" she asked me.

"Yeah. You're one of my best friends and...so much more, but you know that. My mum would be fine with you staying here, so it's okay. If you need someone-"

"I always need you, Phoebe. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked me then.

"Of course, Courtney. I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

Courtney ended the call shortly after that and I waited for the end call noise to sound before going to my own bed. My heart was still pounding away, though. I couldn't believe I had just invited Courtney over. I knew that I would do what I could to take care of her, though. She had become fairly important to me. This just happened to be one of the ways that I could help her out and so I was going to fulfill that.